KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — Japanese companies operating in Malaysia are not only expected to continue reinvesting here but also make the country the base for conducting regional and global operations.

The Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) said it would  work closely with its Japanese counterparts in promoting business-to-business relations between Japan and Malaysia.

For the first eight months of 2016, MIDA approved 36 manufacturing projects from Japan with an investment of RM1.05 billion and they are projected to create an additional 1,280 job opportunities for Malaysians.

“About 86 per cent of this investment came from expansion and diversification activities of existing Japanese companies operating in the country.

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“Among the companies are Rohm-Wako Electronic, Nippon Electric Glass, Cosmo Scientex and Polyplastics Asia Pacific,” MIDA said in a statement after a dialogue session between International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, the Embassy of Japan, Japanese Chamber of Trade and Industry Malaysia and Japanese External Trade Organisation here today.

Among the issues discussed at the dialogue were procedures and regulations on trade and investment, as well as, Malaysia’s current negotiation status on free trade agreements.

Meanwhile, Japan continued to remain Malaysia’s top source of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector since 1980.

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As at 2015, a total of 2,602 manufacturing projects with Japanese participation were implemented with investments of RM85.0 billion and generated 342,837 job opportunities. — Bernama